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SMI to VTT Converter

Bring legacy SAMI subtitles — including EUC-KR Korean files — into the HTML5 era as clean WebVTT that web players actually accept.

Take a 2000s-era SAMI file straight to the web: EUC-KR is detected automatically, timing gains explicit end-times, and the output is the UTF-8 WebVTT that HTML5 players require. The direct path from legacy Korean subtitles to a modern streaming page.

Last verified 2026-08-15 — this tool passed 85 automated end-to-end checks

→ SRT

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Drop .smi files here, or click to browse

converts to VTT · batch supported · encoding auto-detected

01 — WEB-NATIVE OUTPUT

WebVTT is the only format the HTML5 <track> element accepts — the output here drops straight into a web player.

02 — EUC-KR AWARE

Korean SMI files from the 2000s are almost always EUC-KR. Detection is automatic; output is the UTF-8 that browsers require.

03 — PRIVATE

Files are parsed locally in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, logged or retained.

How to use

Drop your file(s) into the box above — or click it to browse.
Conversion starts immediately; the tabs switch to a different output format.
Click Download on each finished file — or Download all (.zip) for a batch. Nothing was uploaded at any point.

From 1998 to the modern web in one step

SAMI is Microsoft's 1998 subtitle format, and WebVTT is what today's web video stack demands — the HTML5 <track> element, Video.js, Plyr, HLS players and most embedded players accept only VTT. If you're putting an old movie or drama with .smi subtitles onto a self-hosted page, a media server's web UI, or an internal streaming portal, this is the direct path: SAMI's <SYNC> blocks become properly timed VTT cues in one conversion.

Everything the SMI to SRT converter handles applies here too: EUC-KR encoding detection (browsers require VTT to be UTF-8 — doubly important), implicit end times from   clear blocks, multi-language files (the dominant class is picked and reported), and HTML entity cleanup.

SAMI vs WebVTT at a glance
	SMI (SAMI)	WebVTT
Era	1998, Windows Media Player	W3C standard for HTML5 video
Syntax	HTML-like SYNC/P blocks	Header + timed cues, dot milliseconds
Encoding in the wild	EUC-KR (Korean legacy)	Must be UTF-8
End times	Implicit (next sync /  )	Explicit per cue
Plays in browsers	No	Natively via <track>

When NOT to convert SMI to VTT

Desktop players — VLC, mpv, IINA and PotPlayer prefer SRT; VTT is specifically for the browser stack. Use SMI → SRT instead.
Uploading to YouTube — YouTube takes SRT directly; no VTT needed.
Bilingual files where you need both tracks — one VTT holds one language; convert twice and add two <track> elements.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my web player show nothing with the original .smi?

HTML5 players only parse WebVTT. A .smi file is silently ignored — converting it to VTT (UTF-8, explicit end times) is exactly what makes captions appear.

한국어 자막이 깨지지 않나요?

EUC-KR을 자동 감지해 UTF-8 VTT로 저장하므로 브라우저에서 정상 표시됩니다. 브라우저는 UTF-8이 아닌 자막을 아예 표시하지 못하는 경우가 많아 이 변환이 필수입니다.

How are end times generated?

A cue ends when the next SYNC block starts — including blank   blocks, which SAMI uses to clear the screen. Only a file-final cue gets a 4-second default.